Don't Let the Moment Pass You By
by Lady Elanya
Summary: Their final moments haunt the Bebop. The words left unspoken still linger in their thoughts. When fate gives them all a second chance, what will they do with it? Please Read and Review!
1. Find Your Peace

Hey just want to say thanks to Tom Kingsly for his kind review. I took it to heart and here is the second draft using your kind critiques. Thanks a bunch!! I also have changed the title of the story and it will no longer be a one-shot I have already written the next chapter and have big plans for this story.

Don't Let the Moment Pass You By

_Her hand barely was able to hold the gun to his head as she stared at him. "Where are you going?" He slowly turned towards her. "Why are you going?" She allowed her hand to lower the gun but never broke eye contact. "You told me once to forget the past, cause it doesn't matter." Her gaze fell to his feet. Those huge shoes that she had always thought looked ridiculous were very appealing to her now. Suddenly she didn't want to look at him but she knew she must._

_"But you're the one still tied to the past Spike!" She shouted at him as his expression remained the same. He turned and moved closer to her, bringing his face down to her level._

_"Look at my eyes, Faye. One of them is a fake, cause I lost it in an accident." He paused for a moment as she lost herself in his eyes. Long ago she had noticed they were two different colors but decided to never ask about it. She actually liked his eyes that way. They made him different, but never had he mentioned his past and she did not want him to tell her right now._

_"Since then, I've been seeing the past in one eye and the present in the other. So I thought I could only see patches of reality, never the whole picture." He stopped speaking again and suddenly the ship seemed too quiet. They both held their breath for a moment waiting to see who would talk next._

_"Don't tell me things like that." She decided now would be the best time to speak her mind. There was no more holding back. "You've never told me anything about yourself. So don't tell me now." Her last sentence had come out harsher then she meant it too but she couldn't help it. He was going to be walking out of her life. She had to try to stop him._

_"I felt like I was watching a dream I'd never wake up from." He took a moment again and she couldn't do anything but stare up at him, there was nothing left of her façade. In this moment she was nothing more then Faye Valentine and she was unable to hide her fear._

_"Hmm..." he smiled, an empty smile, vacant with no meaning behind it. "Before I knew it the dream was all over." He stood straight again and began to move past her. She turned away. Now was the time to say it, she had nothing left to lose._

_"My memory finally came back but nothing good came of it. There was no place for me to return to." She trembled slightly but controlled herself by clenching her hand. "This was the only place I could go. And now you're leaving just like that." She couldn't turn to face him. Her heart was ripping out and she was fighting the tears. "Why do you have to go? Where are you going? What are you going to do?" She turned back towards him and started to shout again. "Just throw your life away like it was nothing!"_

_His gaze never shifted. He just kept looking ahead. "I'm not going there to die." He looked upwards. "I am going to find out if I'm really alive. I have to do it, Faye." He took a step forward, and another, with each step her tears came closer._

_She pointed the gun towards his back. She wanted to stop him but she could not pull the trigger and so she turned it towards the ceiling and shot once. A tear fell down her cheek, he didn't even pause. She shot again, still no reaction and another tear. Three more shots but he just kept walking and she couldn't hold them back anymore. A flood of tears started to creep up on her and she did her best to fall back against the wall. She couldn't hold herself up anymore, not physically and not emotionally. She was unable to say it, the one thing she had wanted to say and now he was gone. The gun slipped from her hand and hit the floor. Her body was close behind as she lost herself to her grief._

Faye Valentine shot up from her bed. She was covered in a cold sweat and her cheeks were wet with tears. She reached her hand up to touch her face and started to break down again. "Four days, Spike, it's been four days." In those four days she had cried more then she ever had in her entire life, the ISSP was still finishing their clean up of the Syndicate building and there was still no word about any survivors, especially ones with green poofy hair.

"Four nights, four times I have had that dream. I couldn't say it. I just wanted to tell you the truth." She fell back to her bed. "Why I fought with you all the time, why I would always punch you lightly when you were being a lunkhead. I only just realized it when I was sitting there in the ruins of my home." She stared at the ceiling.

"Faye!" Jet shouted from outside her door. She hadn't seen him since he had carried her to her bed after the final conversation with Spike. He had gone to search for Spike himself. "Faye! Get out here! I found him!"

She didn't even reply. She ran straight to her door and opened it. In front of her was a very weary looking Jet but she knew that she didn't look much better. Both were fatigued but she didn't care about that. "Where is he?"

"I brought him back very carefully. The hospital helped me transfer him here." He watched as she ran past him towards the one place she knew he'd be. "He is in rough shape, Faye." He followed after her.

"But he is alive!" She started to allow herself a small bit of hope until her eyes looked down at the yellow sofa. Spike lay there covered in bandages, like so many other times she had found him but this time he had IV hook-ups and a heart monitor attached to his finger.

"He has yet to awaken." Jet placed his hand on her shoulder. "But I convinced the hospital it would be better for him to be here with us."

"Thank you, Jet." She grasped his hand and turned to bring him into an embrace. He was shocked to say the least, Faye Valentine had never shown him any affection but he knew how tough this had been for her. He had listened to their final conversation and had carried her to her bed when she collapsed after it. He had his heart broken when he heard her weeping and that was when he decided to search for Spike himself.

"You should go say something to him. Maybe you can bring him back, you have before." Jet pushed her away from him and towards Spike. He turned around and left the room, knowing that they needed their space.

She knelt down on the cold metal floor next to the yellow couch and looked up at Spike. He was alive, she was overjoyed about that but his face was different then the other times she had seen it. He looked almost serene as he was lying there, never before had she seen his face like that. Almost as if he was at peace with dying.

"I am not going to let you die, lunkhead!" She placed her hand on top of his. It was one of the few places that had no bandages. "You have survived much worse then this. Damn it all! Spike, you have been thrown out of a cathedral window, after being shot up, you have been thrown from a moving mono-rail and almost drowned, and you have even been shot to pieces at least twice since I have known you. Surely this should be easy for you to bounce back from, right?" She added the final question almost as if she was asking herself, trying to reassure her mind that he was still with her.

"I am sorry for all the times I was a bitch; I know now what is really important to me. I was searching for my home and for my family and yet it was here all along…but it won't be a family without you, Spike." She squeezed his hand lightly and decided now was the time.

"I never got to tell you this before you left." She leaned in towards his ear. "I love you, Spike Spiegal." She felt a weight lift off her shoulder as soon as she said it, at last he knew even if he was unconscious. She looked back towards his face and saw that instead of the serene expression it was almost as if he was smirking but there was still no change on the heart monitor so she figured it was all just her imagination.

She remained there on the floor and did the only thing that had ever calmed her. She started to hum, the same tune she had the last time he had been like this. The same tune that she was always humming around the Bebop, Spike always said it annoyed him but she had never cared, it made emotions return to her that were normally foreign to her. And so she sat there next to him humming the song that Julia used to sing, losing herself to the tune.

"You know…" A low whisper escaped his lips. "You still sing off key." Her head shot up to look at him. She stared into his eyes. Her heart had longed to see his hazel and brown eyes and to have them gazing into hers. "But…" he spoke again. "It isn't too bad."

"You stupid lunkhead!" She lunged forward and cradled his head carefully in her arms. He simply smirked as she started to cry once again. This time they were tears of happiness, her heart was bursting with emotion and she didn't care. 'He is back,' she ran her hands through his hair, 'and this is turning out better then the last time he said that.' She rested her head against the side of the old yellow couch and felt bliss sitting there. His eyes closed as she continued to hold him and they both fell asleep.

The next morning Jet walked into the main room and looked at his partners. A smile spread across his lips as he lifted his metal arm to his bald head. "Finally," was all he said as he turned around and walked back out of the room leaving his partners as they were not wanted to disturb their moment.

_Find Your Peace, Space Cowboy_

Hey this is my first post in a long time and I need reviewer's opinions on it. Please Review and let me know what you think. I know some of the characters may be a little OOC but hey this is Fanfiction after all. Thanks for reading.

Lady Elanya

PS. I like to personally believe that Spike did live. The old Native American man says that a star falls when someone dies and I know is it childish for me to believe but at least two people could have died that night and only one star fell, who knows whose star that is, and I have read an interview with the creators they said they don't even know if Spike is dead or not. They made the ending like that so that every viewer could decide for themselves whether or not he lives.


	2. Enjoy Those Moments of Tranquility

Don't Let the Moment Pass You By

Chapter 2

Spike's eyes slowly cracked open. He stared up for a moment at the fan that seemed all too familiar. He tried to think of what had happened until it hit him similar to the pain that was suddenly throbbing through his whole body.

He tried to piece together the fragments of memories that were jumbled together in his mind. He could place every injury on his body, the cut across his right cheek from the glass that had shattered, the gun shot to his left elbow from his shoot out with one of the Red Dragon lackeys. There was the bullet graze on his head from the jackass who had killed Shin and finally the injuries he had sustained from his final bout with Vicious. A knife wound to his left shoulder, a slice to his left leg and the large stomach gash he could feel aching under its wrappings.

Something felt different though, instead of the rough cushions of the yellow couch under his head he felt a foreign texture. He also started to notice the hand that was rested against the back of his head. Memories of a time that had long passed began to flood into his mind and he lost himself to them.

_She hummed a tune lightly. It danced through the air around him and roused him from his sleep. He opened his eyes and looked up at her. She was reading a book and smiled at him. How many times had he awoken to find her like that? How many times had she saved him from the brink of death? Vicious slowly walked up behind her and placed a light kiss on her neck._

_Spike had to avert his eyes slightly, he had been jealous of Vicious for the longest time but he had accepted it. Julia was his best friend's woman and there was no changing that besides he would never betray Vicious. His friend smiled at him and walked over next to his bed._

_"Hey you fool; looks like you got yourself all beaten up again. The elders are starting to wonder if you are worth keeping around." A laugh escaped his lips and filled the room. This was how it once was. Their friendship was deep; they were brothers who fought for the honor of the Red Dragon Syndicate._

_"But you do hold your own weight; you took out more of the Blue Snake lackeys then any of us." He turned back around and rested his hand on Julia's shoulder. "If he asks for anything, do it. Make sure he is comfortable." She nodded as he left the room._

_Spike looked over at her and motioned her to come closer. She stood up and placed her ear near his lips so that she could hear him. How he longed to kiss her ear and to make her his but instead he held himself back. "Will you rest my head in your lap?" She nodded again and moved herself onto the bed. She slowly placed his head into her lap and started to hum again. She returned to reading her book and he fell into a deep sleep listening to her voice, feeling the warmth of her legs and the pleasant sensation of her free hand running through his hair._

Spike opened his eyes again realizing that this moment had become a memory a long time ago. He looked to his right and that was when he saw her. The woman looked so angelic with her head rested against the side of the couch.

Faye Valentine was the image of beauty to him. He had seen her sleep before but never had he seen her like this. Normally she looked ready to pounce, like a cat when they sleep. But right now she was truly resting peacefully. He couldn't remember how they had gotten like this but that was when he realized the lap he felt under his head was hers and the hand on his head belonged to her porcelain frame.

He was a man so of course he had fantasized about her in a less then gentlemanly way. His mind had more then once wandered about what she would feel like and look like underneath her normal yellow outfit, granted it left little for the imagination. His favorite time was when he had first seen her in her little red dress, if it hadn't been for the distraction of Vicious he did not know what he would have done.

Never in his fantasies had he imagined her skin to be this soft or that this would be the situation for him to discover that. Abruptly the image of Julia's face invaded his mind. She was dead and he was thinking of another woman. He had gone to fight Vicious hoping to discover if he had died all those years ago only to discover that he was very much alive and there were many things he still wanted to live for. The woman who cradled him in her lap was one of those faces that made him want to keep living.

She stirred slightly which moved his head just a little but that was enough for the pain to return to the forefront of his thoughts. He winced as his sight started to blur. 'Damn,' he thought to himself, 'I have been in much worse condition then this but for some odd reason I can't even keep conscious. I just want to look at her for a little longer…' he had barely finished the thought before he was overwhelmed by the darkness yet again and the two were able to remain in their serene state for a while longer but nothing that perfect lasts for an eternity and life was about to force the two away from the old yellow couch…

_Enjoy Those Moments of Tranquility_

Hey here is the second chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. :) Please Read and Review Again and let me know what ya'll think, okay?

Lady Elanya


	3. Don't Wander Off, Space Cowboy

Don't Let the Moment Pass You By

Chapter 3

Don't Wander Off

Spike was abruptly awoken when a tear fell onto his left cheek. He opened his eyes and stared up at Faye. She was crying, Faye Valentine, the pillar of strength, was crying. He could not imagine why she would be breaking down but then he started to think back farther then his final fight with his past. He had left her all alone in the hallway, she had been trying to tell him something but he had walked away thinking he would never see her again.

"Spike," she murmured in her sleep as the tears started to fall faster. He lifted his right arm and touched her cheek lightly. She was startled from her sleep and in her panic almost slapped him.

"Faye," he spoke her name and was shocked by how weak his voice sounded. She settled down and stared at him. Her emerald eyes were piercing him through his heart, they same way as when he left her.

"Hey, you're finally awake." A smile spread across her crimson lips. She moved her hand away from his head and he instantly felt a desire for her to return it to the same place.

"I could say the same thing." He smirked, despite the dull aching he felt all over his body; he was beginning to feel better. The wonders of modern medicine were amazing and he knew that he would be up within the next few days.

"Glad to see you two are awake." Jet stood in one of the doorways watching them. They had been so caught up in each other they had not noticed Jet walking into the room.

"Yeah…" Faye blushed as she fully realized for the first time that Spike Spiegal's head was resting in her lap. She lifted his head up and slowly moved her body out from under him. He wished she hadn't for his headache started to return.

"Hope you two don't mind but Mars is behind us. We are headed to Earth." Jet walked into the room and sat down in his favorite chair.

"Earth?" Spike wished to be able to sit up and look at his old friend.

"We got a distress signal from Ed. I don't know what it is about but she hacked the ship and we don't have much of a choice about where we go." Jet rubbed his bald head and felt the awkwardness that was radiating in the room.

"Well, I guess I will go take a shower. Christ knows I need one, even though I live with you slobs I don't need to smell like you." Faye turned around and her two male companions watched her leave the room. Jet let out a large sigh.

"Nice to have her back." He was trying to hide his immense joy at having even a resemblance of what life used to be like.

"Her back?" Spike could not help but be curious. There was no, nice to see you are alive, or you really should be more careful, just 'nice to have her back.'

"You really shook her up." Jet stood up and looked down at his injured friend. "I have never seen her like that, and I have no interest to see her like that again. So no more going out and trying to get yourself killed. Deal?"

Spike started to laugh, not like before he left. His laughter then had been empty and no more then him trying to comfort his mind at the thought of leaving his friends. By the time he stopped laughing he could see that Jet was no longer in the room. For the first time since waking he felt alone, for some odd reason he started to miss Ed and Ein even though he never paid much thought to them while they were there.

The ship started to rock as he felt an all too familiar sensation. The Bebop was landing, they had already reached Earth. He was already far away from Mars and far away from his past once again. The ship's intercom system turned on and a voice echoed through the air.

"Bebop-Bebop!" Ed's voice was filled with mixed emotions. "Ed needs your help! Ein was taken by strange men!"…

_Don't Wander Off, Space Cowboy_

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Hey let me know what you think! I know where I want to go with this story but unfortunately this chapter is just a filler. :( Please review!

Lady Elanya


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